Music in the Berkshires: Week of July 3

As we enter the Independence Day week, you’ll find an incredible array of great live music all across Berkshire County. There are over 73 live shows to choose from, including classical, jazz, rock, and folk.

James Taylor performs his traditional Tanglewood 4th of July shows with two sold-out performances on Monday and Tuesday. The official opening night of the Tanglewood classical season is on Friday night. Week two of the Berkshire Busk season takes place in Great Barrington, plus we are fortunate to have national touring musicians such as Selwyn Birchwood, Joe Henry, Vance Gilbert, Dirty Cello, and CJ Fields all performing in Berkshire County. Those who want to travel down a musical memory lane can find tribute bands performing the music of Tom Petty, Velvet Underground, Bob Marley, Fleetwood Mac, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

You can jump right to our Calendar to see all events rather than read our performance rundown. For those new to our website, note that you can search for a specific artist, filter the performances based on genre, venue, or location, and view events in both a calendar and map view in addition to the default list view. Use the subscribe button below to receive this weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox.

Monday, the eve of the 4th of July, offers 5 opportunities to catch live music in advance of the holiday. 

The night’s big show is James Taylor performing the first of his two nights at Tanglewood in Lenox. Last we checked, both nights are sold out, but you may be able to find tickets on some of the local community boards on Facebook – I’m seeing lots of “I have two extra lawn tickets” or “I need 1 ticket” posts on Facebook.

Earlier in the day, you can start your holiday music blitz with Colby Lewis & Steve Ide performing from noon – 2:30 pm in Downtown Lenox across from the Olde Heritage Tavern on Housatonic Street. They will be playing your favorites from the ’70s.

Later in the afternoon, Fannie Pack plays dancing tunes from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at The Barn Kitchen & Bar in Williamstown, while down in Stockbridge, the Berkshire Botanical Garden kicks off their summer concert series with Cierra Fragale, performing from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Cierra is an indie pop singer/songwriter, producer, and actor from NY’s Hudson Valley – you can learn more about her and listen to her music here.

Back up in North County at 7:00 pm, Luke Robin performs at Greylock Works as part of their Moxie Monday Nights series.

Tuesday is the Fourth of July, and there is just one show in the county: James Taylor at Tanglewood. 

Live music activity picks up again on Wednesday, with eight performances to choose from.

At 1:30 pm at the Linde Center for Music and Learning at Tanglewood, music lovers can attend the Open Piano Workshop with Marc-André Hamelin, which will give the audience a behind-the-scenes look at how Tanglewood Music Center Fellows develop their skills.

At 5:30 pm, Otis-based Folk-Americana duo The Adams Brothers perform as part of the Town of Great Barrington Concert Series at the Gazebo behind the town building.

We just added all of the performances at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown to our live music calendar, and the first show is one you won’t want to miss. Grammy-award-winning musician and folk-Americana troubadour Joe Henry performs outdoors from 6:00 – 8:00 pm (with indoor options in the event of rain). You can learn more about and listen to Joe here.

Also in North County, at 6:30 pm, Eli Elkus performs as part of the Windsor Lake summer concert series. Eli describes himself as a “traveling musical storyteller, songcraftsman, and Folk activist” – listen to him here. A bit further south in Dalton, Dan Gingras performs at the Dalton CRA from 6:30 – 8:00 pm as part of the Music on Main CRA Summer Concert Series.

At Lilac Park in Lenox, Switchback performs outdoors at 6:30 pm as part of the Lenox Concerts in the Park Series. Also in Lenox, Katherine Winston performs from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn. Katherine is a Massachusetts-based singer/songwriter and American Idol alum who blends country and pop influences. You can learn more about and listen to her music here.

Just down the road in Stockbridge at The Lion’s Den, Micheal Junkins Trio performs from 6:30 – 9:30 pm as part of the July Jazz Series.

Thursday is a big day in the county with 12 live music performances, starting off with the TMC Opening Exercises at 2:30 pm at Tanglewood in Lenox.

From 4:00 – 6:00 pm, Ventfort Hall in Lenox offers a special program,  Jazz and the Gilded Age. The program will include works from the Great American Songbook by Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin.

Mary Ann Palermo performs a mix of jazz, R&B, and blues at the Oasis Bar & Grill in the newly opened  Lakehouse Inn in Lee, starting at 5:15 pm.

At Naumkeag in Stockbridge,  you can listen to The Lucky 5 while taking in the stunning views from this Trustees property. They describe themselves as  “a hard-swinging jazz band that blends 30’s and 40’s style swing with gypsy and Parisian flavors to create a unique blend of music that stands by itself.” You can learn more about and listen to them here. They perform from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.

Also at 6:00 pm, Karen Tchougourian performs jazz at Gateways Inn in Lenox, while at 7:00 pm, also in Lenox, one of my favorite bands, Clare Maloney & The Great Adventure performs at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn. It’s the first of three shows in a row at Apple Tree Inn. Read our recent interview with Clare Maloney to understand her and the band’s incredible talent.

Marc Delgado performs from 7:00 – 10:00 pm as part of The Lion’s Den July Den sessions in Stockbridge at the Red Lion Inn. Marc is a folk singer/songwriter, poet, and storyteller from Woodstock, NY. You can learn more about and listen to him here.

Up in North Adams at the 413 Bistro & Taproom, Hawaiian native and current North Adams resident Lita Williams performs at 7:00 pm. She’ll bring you music from all genres, from country to reggae, rock, blues, R&B, and Hawaiian music on her ukulele.

Down south at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Wes Buckley performs at the Lodge’s Down County Social Club. Wes brings 20 years of writing for records, feature-length and short films, and commercials, as well as working alongside many other songwriters as a guitarist and saxophonist. Learn more about him here.

Up at Dream Away Lodge in Becket, you can catch Jenna Nicholls & John Ladeau from 7:30 – 9:00 pm. NY City-based Jenna Nichols will bring her Ukelele to the stage, playing music ranging from New Orleans-style dirges to 1920’s style original ballads. Recently, Jenna toured with Ingrid Michaelson. You can learn about her and listen to her music here.

With no classical show at Tanglewood Thursday evening, classical lovers may want to head up to Adams to attend Ruckus featuring Emi Ferguson and Rachell Ellen Wong from 7:30 – 9:30 pm at the Adams Theatre. The concert features trio sonatas by George Handel and Thomas Arne, country dances from Ignacio Sancho, instrumental hymns from William Billings and Daniel Read, and new work from Celeste Oram.

Fleetwood Mac lovers want to go to Egremont Barn to catch the tribute band Back 2 Mac. They will perform from 7:30 – 10:00 pm

Friday Night has an astonishing 18 live music shows in beautiful Berkshire County. 

You can start the evening off at Catamount in South Egremont when Boston-based Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers perform from 4:30 – 8:00 pm. Erin Harpe has been called “one of the most dynamic, talented, and exciting roots-rocking blues women on the scene” by Living Blues Magazine. Learn more about them and listen to them here.

At Sloane’s Tavern in Lenox, Colby Lewis performs your favorite acoustic rock from the ‘70s from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. He’ll be outside on the patio if the weather is good; otherwise inside.

Down in Great Barrington, Connecticut-based The Joint Chiefs will perform from 5:30 – 7:15 at the Great Barrington Town Hall as part of the town’s outdoor concert series. You can learn more about and listen to them here.

At 6:00 pm at the LIFT Bistropub at Bosquet, you can catch Mark Franklin. We recently met Mark as part of the outstanding work he does with the Calliope Cafe, a program that aims to provide a venue for young Berkshire artists to test their wings in a comfortable and encouraging atmosphere, cultivate effective on-stage habits, and instill a sense of mutual support and community among performers. You can read about this program in our article from last week.

Back down in Great Barrington, Friday’s installment of Berkshire Busk takes place from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in Downtown Great Barrington. Music performances include Roger & Lenny, Christina Dellea, Harry & Karen and the Unexpected.

It’s a busy night in Pittsfield with four performances. At Berkshire Palate in the North Hotel, The Beaks Band will perform at 7:00 pm. The Beaks Band is a husband & wife acoustic duo from New York performing a variety of music from the ’50s thru the ’90s.

Hancock Shaker Village hosts the first evening of their Back Porch Music series, featuring CJ Fields, performing at 7:00 pm. CJ is a Berkshire County native and Grammy-nominated songwriter who has a soulful sound with Southern rock influences – you can learn more and list to CJ’s music here.

Dan Gingras performs at the Rusty Anchor Pub from 7:00 – 10:00 pm, while over at Hot Plate Brewing Co, you can catch First Friday Artswalk feat. Berkshire Artists and Dave Brown, also at 7:00 pm. 

Further north, you listen to Tony Lee Thomas at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams, performing from 7:00 – 9:00 pm.

Clare Maloney & The Great Adventure perform the second of three nights at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, while just down the road in Stockbridge, The Lucky 5 (described above) perform from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.

Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio goes on at 7:30 pm at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Rob is an award-winning virtuoso violinist, classically trained but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves – you can listen to his trio here.

Up in Dalton at The Stationery Factory, you can see Selwyn Birchwood wsg Bywater Call perform starting at 7:30 pm. The Tampa-based rising guitar and lap steel player calls his original music “electric swamp funkin’ blues,” defined by raw and soulful musicianship played with fire-and-brimstone fervor. You can check Selwyn out here.

At the Egremont Barn, you can catch some great blues and soulful rock with The BTU’s performing at 7:30. We sat down with BTUs guitarist Steve Ide back in late April – you can read in the interview about his experiences in the local music scene playing with three bands. Steve played with Arlo Guthrie and his band Shenandoah earlier in his career.

At 8:00 pm, classical music lovers will rejoice at Opening Night at Tanglewood in Lenox. The performance features three pieces: Wynton Marsalis Herald, Holler, and Hallelujah; Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3; and Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4.

Up at the Knox Trail Inn in East Otis, you can catch The 413s, playing from 8:00 – 11:00 pm, while over in Becket at Dream Away Lodge, there is a double bill consisting of Lisa Michelle Anderson performing from 8:00 – 9:30, followed by The Best Times Band from 9:30 – 11:00 pm. Lisa was voted best Singer-Songwriter by the Minnesota Music Academy and has opened for Warren Zevon, The Jayhawks, Marianne Faithfull, Lowen & Navarro, and others. You can learn more about Lisa and listen to her music here.

Saturday features 17 performances, with a variety of music across the spectrum.

You can start the day at 10:30 am at Tanglewood in Lenox with an Open Rehearsal: Andris Nelsons conducts Brahms, Habibi and Montgomery featuring Julia Bullock, soprano and Hilary Hahn, violin.

We have another dose of Berkshire Busk from  2:00 – 4:00 pm with performances including Rees Shad & The Conversations at Berkshire Mountain Distillers and Jacob Shipley at Robin’s Candy, both in Great Barrington.

Back at Tanglewood at 2:30 pm, there is a special performance at the Linde Center: Immersion: Themes from Ragtime with Nicholas Phan, tenor. This performance focuses on the social themes of the musical Ragtime, in which tenor Nicholas Phan examines the myths and realities of the United States as “a nation of immigrants” through a performance of Nico Muhly’s song cycle Stranger. Composed for Phan, the cycle juxtaposes accounts of Ellis Island immigration with protests against Chinese Exclusion policies in the U.S.

Tom Petty fans won’t want to miss The Breakers: A Tribute to Tom Petty with guests The Eagles Experience at Butternut in Great Barrington, starting at 5:00 pm.

Mary Ann Palermo performs again at Oasis Bar & Grill in Lee at 5:15 pm. This time, she brings long-time accompanists Rich Hommel and Stephen Dietemann, playing guitar and bass, respectively.

Classical music lovers should consider attending Aston Magna: The Art of Dominique Labelle from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at St. James Place in Great Barrington. The show features the music of Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel, Rossi, with Dominique Labelle, soprano, and ensemble.

Melissa Brinton performs from 6:00 – 9:00 pm at The LIFT Bistropub at Bousquet in Pittsfield, while Bobby MacVeety performs jazz in the same timeslot at Gateways Inn in Lenox.

Berkshire Busk has mainstage Great Barrington performances from 6:30 – 10:00 pm, including Harry & Karen and the Unexpected, Rees Shad & The Conversations. Their downtown performances run from 6:30 – 8:30 and feature Willy Welch, Katherine Winston, and Jaane Doe.

The Velvet Underground Tribute performs from 7:00 – 10:00 pm at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, while One for One Duo performs at Rusty Anchor Pub in Pittsfield.

Vyntyge Skynyrd, a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band, performs at 7:30 pm at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Another tribute band, Roots Rock Reality (Bob Marley Tribute), performs at Egremont Barn at 7:30 pm.

Back up at Tanglewood in Lenox, the main event for the day is the Boston Pops performing Ragtime: The Symphonic Concert with Keith Lockhart conducting. Based on the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, Ragtime weaves together the stories of three intersecting groups in the U.S. in the early 20th century: Eastern European immigrants, the African American community in Harlem, and an upper-class white family. Together, they confront history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair.

While the Pops are performing, just across the street at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Clare Maloney & The Great Adventure complete their three-show run, performing at 8:00 pm.

Over at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, contemporary folk and Americana acoustic storyteller Vance Gilbert performs as part of their Troubadour Series. You can learn more about Vance’s impressive career and listen to his music here.

If you did not meet your minimum weekly requirement of great live music up to this point in the week, you’ve got 11 more chances on Sunday to do so.

Starting at 10:00 am, you can listen to TMC Chamber Music in Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall in Lenox.

For something just a bit different, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, you can catch the Domingo Brunch featuring Tendai Muparutsa with Jason Ennis at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. Zimbabwean singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Tendai Muparutsa (Artist in Residence in African Music Performance at Williams College) is joined by guitarist Jason Ennis to perform Muparuta’s original compositions and arrangements of traditional Zimbabwean music.

From 2:30 – 2:30 pm, you can catch Wild Cat OHalloran Band & Garrin Benfield as part of the Sundays in the Park Live Music series at First Congregational Church of Lee.

Also at 2:30 pm, back up at Tanglewood, Andris Nelsons conducts Brahms, Habibi and Montgomery featuring Julia Bullock, soprano and Hilary Hahn, violin. The performance features three pieces: Iman Habibi Zhiân (world premiere; BSO commission); Jessie Montgomery Freedom Songs (BSO co-commission); and Brahms Violin Concerto.

Later in the afternoon, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, you can see Trevor Wheelock at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams.  Trevor is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, composer, and music director based in Upstate New York and the Berkshires. 

Out in Becket at the Becket Arts Center, back by popular demand, is the blues-Americana band Dirty Cello, playing from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. Dirty Cello performs worldwide and is described as “the combination of the virtuosic wail of Jimi Hendrix, the soul of BB King, and the fire of Bill Monroe.” You can learn more about and listen to Dirty Cello here.

Back down in Lenox at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, you can attend TMC Vocal Music at 6:00 pm. The performance includes Boulanger Selected songs; Osvaldo Golijov Lua Descolorida; Crawford-Seeger White Moon; Dutilleux San Francisco Night; Knussen Voice of the Rain; Ives Selected songs; and Charles Fussell Being Music.

You can catch a dose of jazz over in Stockbridge at The Lion’s Den when Micheal Junkins & Friends performs from 6:30 – 9:30 pm.

Back at Tanglewood at 8:00 pm at the Linde Center, you can see TLI Presents: Pamela Z. Internationally prominent composer/performer and media artist Pamela Z combines elements of voice, live electronics, sampled sound, and video utilizing the unique features of Studio E.

Misty Blues, just back from their UK Tour, will perform starting at 8:00 pm at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. We had the opportunity to see Misty Blues for their send-off performance for the tour over at Berkshire Palate last week and thoroughly enjoyed it.

And finally…Up in North Adams at Tourists, you can see Northampton-based folk-Americana artist Lisa Bastoni perform at 8:00 pm. You can learn more about Lisa and listen to her music here.

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That’s our performance rundown for the week of July 3. Every music lover should be able to find at least one show that will inspire them to get out of the house and support the amazing live music scene on full display in The Berkshires.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires